Education:
Study at Furman U., 1855-9; B.A. Wake Forest, 1861; M.A., 1866; D.D. Judson Coll., 1887; LL.D. Furman, 1907.
Professional Experience:
Tchr. Forestville Acad., 1865-6; prof. Gk. Wake Forest, 1866-1928.
Notes:
William B. Royall was professor of Greek at Wake Forest College for more than 62 years, from the end of the Civil War to his death, and his students went on to become scholars, preachers, lawyers, doctors, and businessmen. He served in the Confederate Army for four years under Robert E. Lee. In 1865, while teaching at Forestville Academy, he was asked to join his father in starting over the work of Wake Forest College after the war, and thus began the teaching of classical Greek at the age of 21; after 1897 he also taught New Testament Greek. He was ordained a Baptist minister in 1869 and served several churches for long periods while teaching at Wake Forest. He was an early member of the Board of Education of the N.C. Baptist State Convention and its secretary for 50 years. He had taught at Furman and was also president of Baylor Female College. In 1926 he began to limit his teaching to the New Testament course.
Sources:
Garland A. Hendricks, Encyclopedia of Southern Baptists II (1958) 1176; G. W. Paschal, "William Bailey Royall: A Biographical Sketch," The Wake Forest Student, XLV. 7 (Apr., 1928), 286-95; "Memorial Addresses," ibid., 296-310; "Reminiscences and Personal Tributes," ibid., 316-22.
